Cleopatra had African ancestry, skeleton suggests

Cleopatra could have been part-African, according to the study of a skeleton
believed to be her half sister.

11:33AM GMT 15 Mar 2009

Traditional thinking has always been that the monarch, memorably portrayed by Elizabeth Taylor, was Greek Caucasian.

But experts have discovered what they think are her sister's remains, revealing that the siblings had a part-African heritage.

Princess Arsinoe's remains were found in a tomb in Ephesus, Turkey.

There was no love lost between her and her powerful sister - it is believed that Cleopatra ordered Roman lover Mark Antony to murder her.

Documentary presenter and archaeologist Neil Oliver said: "Cleopatra, Julius Caesar, Mark Antony...they are all iconic figures from history. It's almost impossible to remember they were real people and not the semi-mythical figures portrayed by Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor.

"It was like a splash of cold water in the face to be confronted by them as human beings. When I stood in the lab and handled the bones of Cleopatra's blood sister - knowing that in her lifetime she touched Cleopatra and perhaps Julius Caesar and Mark Antony as well- I felt the hairs go up on the back of my neck. Suddenly these giant figures from history were flesh and blood."

The documentary examines key events in Cleopatra's life, including her affair with Caesar, the killing of her two brothers and her pact with Mark Antony to murder Arsinoe.

Dr Hilke Thuer, from the Austrian Academy of Science, who led the discovery, said: "It is unique in the life of an archaeologist to find the tomb and the skeleton of a member of Ptolemaic dynasty. The results of the forensic examination and the fact that the facial reconstruction shows that Arsinoe had an African mother is a real sensation which leads to a new insight on Cleopatra's family and the relationship of the sisters Cleopatra and Arsinoe."

Cleopatra: Portrait of a Killer will be shown at 9pm on BBC One on Monday, March 23.

Scientific papers on the remains will be presented by Dr Fabian Kanz from The Medical University of Vienna at the American Association of Physical Anthropologists on March 31.